Maker’s Mark Watering Down Its Bourbon To Mediate Supply Woes

Maker’s Mark bourbon is about to lose a bit of its kick.

If you like to cut Maker’s Mark with a little water, you won’t have to do it yourself anymore. The distillery is going to start watering down bottles of its famous bourbon all by themselves, sharply bringing down the product from 90 proof to 84 proof. The Kentucky distillery behind Maker’s Mark is cutting some alcohol out of its brew because of supply and demand.

“Lately we’ve been hearing from many of you that you’ve been having difficulty finding Maker’s Mark in your local stores,” Maker’s Mark executives Rob Samuels and Bill Samuels Jr. wrote in an email to clients. “Fact is, demand for our bourbon is exceeding our ability to make it, which means we’re running very low on supply.”

The distillery is going to boost production so that there’s “enough Maker’s Mark to go around,” but come customers are already complaining, reports the New York Post.

“Usually you’re going to notice that,” said one Williamsburg bartender. “If I started putting a half shot of water in the bottom of everyone’s beer just to make the keg last longer they’d notice.”

“I don’t think the proof really matters [for a drink to be enjoyable]. But when that’s your reason for doing it, I just think that’s a cheap business practice,” he concluded.

MSN Now quips: “It’s really a pretty ingenious way to deal with supply and demand. If you water down your bourbon, you can make more bottles to sell, and when you’ve lowered the alcohol content of your bourbon, nobody will buy it anymore. Problem solved!”

Would you still order watered-down Maker’s Mark? If so, you’ll probably need to make it a double.